ALBUM REVIEW: Haley Heynderickx Explores the Divide Between the Natural World and Modern Life on ‘Seed of a Seed’

Feeling stressed by the modern world? Haley Heynderickx is too. The Portland, Oregon folkie has plenty to say about the unhealthy, attention-deficient lives many lead today on the absorbing Seed of a Seed, her first album in more than six years. Heynderickx is no mere scold, though. This thoughtful singer-songwriter also points a way out of the noxious morass generated by consumerism, tech, and other contemporary afflictions, touting such organic remedies as flowers and hummingbirds.

A timely rejection of the assumption that new equals better, this sophomore effort suggests Heynderickx channeled the contrarian spirit of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi.” But where her predecessor projected grace, Heynderickx’s appealing voice has an anxious edge, which is underscored by her lithe acoustic guitar and arresting melodies prone to swerving in unexpected directions without notice. This sense of uncertainty is tempered by the soothing earth tones of the understated supporting players, including Matthew Holmes (double bass) and Caleigh Drane (cello).

Echoing the dark tension of Bob Dylan’s “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding),” Heynderickx kicks off the album with “Gemini,” highlighting phone addiction and “useless things I’ve bought for someone’s profit,” and probing the unsettling sensation of being disconnected from reality. Things improve when she pulls over “to stare at purple clover off the highway,” exclaiming, “I finally begin to feel better.”

So it goes throughout Seed of a Seed, as Heynderickx crafts vivid sketches evoking the pervasive unease of life today. The jaunty “Foxglove” asks, “What is your dream…is it the city life?”; in the shimmering “Redwoods (Anxious God)” she declares, “I’d do anything to hear the redwoods talk.”

Although her songs are rooted in the here and now, Heynderickx could be mistaken for a survivor of the ‘60s scene, when folk might have a tinge of psychedelia, and artists felt free to be their own eccentric selves. Adding trombone to the mix, “Sorry Fahey’’ celebrates everyday pleasures, among them a cup of tea and an old couch, swaying like a classic country blues tune.

In the gentle closing track “Swoop,” she asks, “Is there an artistry in the day to day to day?”, concluding, “There’s an artistry to going away.” Beholden to herself above all, Haley Heynderickx has some old-fashioned thoughts to share on the compelling Seed of a Seed, and they’ve never been more relevant.

Haley Heynderickx’s Seed of a Seed is out digitally Nov. 1 and physically on Dec. 6 on Mama Bird Recordings.